How to pack for a war zone

This article was taken from the July issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online

There’s no rabbit’s foot or photo of my mum,” says Sebastian Meyer, a photojournalist for The New York Times and Daily Telegraph, who is currently in Baghdad. So forget lucky charms and pack these instead.

YOUR MOST HIDEOUS, UNFASHIONABLE CLOTHES Dump the smart threads and Tom Ford shades in favour of what the locals wear. In lots of places this is a mixture of cheap suits, old sportswear and cheap trainers. Meyer says: “Men in Sadr City wear pointy shoes and horrible jumpers, and that’s what I have to wear too so I don’t stand out.” The same rule applies to any kit bags you might be carrying. Bad is good.

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GROCERIES We’re not talking Tesco Finest organic croissants and a packet of Kettle Chips for snacking on &ndash; instead, buy sturdy food such as carrots or potatoes, and use it to cover anything expensive you might be carrying. If approached, you can flash the vegetables and keep walking.

A WIRE COATHANGER War journalists are reputed to carry around a folded-up wire coathangerin their top pocket. This is so that in the event of finding yourself stuck in a minefield, you can use it to scrape off the topsoil without activating anything.

A MASSIVE COAT Meyer says his Carhartt jacket, with a dual purpose of keeping him warm and hiding his bulletproof vest, is an absolute must. “Riding around in the back of pick-up trucks for hours on end is absolutely freezing. I can also put my bulletproof vest on underneath it, and it doesn’t show. I went to the Mosul Dam and needed to drive through some sketchy Sunni towns. We were travelling undercover, so the last thing I wanted was anyone to see me with a vest.”

HEADGEAR If you’re going to city-centre demonstrations, you don’t want to be mistaken for the military, so a helmet is a bad idea. Rodney Pinder, director of the International News Safety Institute, says: “If you’re going to an area where there might be violent demonstrations, you should have some kind of hard hat, but not necessarily one which is as obvious as a steel helmet. You can get hard hats that look like baseball caps, which you’ll certainly appreciate it if you’re hit over the head with a piece of two-by-four.”

WESTERN MEDICINE Take eye-drops to keep your eyes from feeling dry and gritty from the dust, and lots of western painkillers. Meyer says he’s been to the hospital twice, and had to take local medicine. “It’s probably more dangerous than going on the raids,” he says.

This article was first published in the July 2010 issue of WIRED magazine